


Connect the Dots

by demishock



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Gen, IgNoct, Ignoct Week, M/M, ignoctweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-12-11 00:05:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11702637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demishock/pseuds/demishock
Summary: As their journey continues, Noctis starts to notice a change in the stars.





	Connect the Dots

**Author's Note:**

> Written for ignoctweek on tumblr. Day 5 prompt: "Constellations."
> 
> Unbeta'd; please let me know if you notice any glaring errors.

They were at the chocobo post when Noctis first noticed that the stars had changed.

He hadn’t believed it at the time, convinced that the familiar constellations were just hidden behind a cloud, or that, in the wake of everything that had happened with the empire in the past few days, his eyes were playing tricks on him. They had gone on to receive Ramuh's blessing, the Regalia, and the tragic news of Talcott's loss, and Noctis had put the stars out of his mind.

But tonight, as he stood atop the lighthouse at Cape Caem, there was no denying that the familiar shapes he was looking for were gone.

He shivered, and it had nothing to do with how windy it was at the coast.

His musings were interrupted by the creaking of the old elevator behind him. It wasn’t long before Ignis joined him at the rail, as if summoned by his uncertainty. Noctis was touched, as he so often was, by how Ignis always seemed to appear exactly when Noctis needed him.

“You’re up late,” Ignis said in lieu of a greeting. “Something troubling you?”

There were a lot of things troubling Noctis, few of which he actually felt up to discussing. The constellation conundrum, though, felt like one of the safer topics.

“I think I might be going crazy,” Noctis admitted.

“And why would that be?”

Noctis held up his hand, sighting along his arm. Normally, the section of sky being framed by his fingers would contain the pattern of stars that ancient astronomers had decided, for some reason, looked like a mounted knight.

“Odin's gone," Noctis said. "He’s not hidden, or hard to see. He's just… gone.”

Ignis followed his example, checking for himself. Then he frowned. He cleaned his glasses and looked again.

“…That is highly irregular.”

“You can’t see him either?”

“I cannot,” Ignis affirmed. “And now that you’ve mentioned it… our lady Siren appears to be absent, as well.”

Noctis sought out the stars resembling a winged woman, and sure enough, the tiny points of light were gone, replaced with inky, blue-black nothing.

“What the hell?”

“What, indeed,” Ignis murmured, a note of concern coloring his tone. “Could this be related to the phenomenon Sania mentioned, I wonder?”

Noctis hadn’t given it much thought before now. Although Sania had told them that the nights were getting longer, the earthquakes and storms had been a much more obvious and pressing concern. The change Sania spoke of was barely noticeable by comparison.

Or at least, it hadn’t been.

With everything else that was happening, it had felt like too large and vague a problem to worry about. But now that Noctis could physically see the signs…

Noctis clutched the railing tightly. This was wrong. This was all wrong. He’d already lost his father, and Insomnia. He had just lost Jared in service to the crown. Now he was losing the very stars in the sky. Everything felt upside down and backwards, and Noctis didn’t know how to reorient himself. Tomorrow, they would set out for a foreign country, where the only person he knew was Luna. He wondered if he’d even recognize her, after all these years. If _she'd_ recognize _him_. He wondered if it was really okay to leave Lucis behind him while it was swarming with imperial soldiers. He wondered if there was anything he could do to fix any of this.

He started as Ignis placed a hand gently over his, prying Noctis's fingers loose from their death-grip on the rail and lacing them through his own instead.

“We’ll set things right, Noct. The gods would not be giving you their blessings if you were walking the wrong path.”

Noctis desperately wanted to believe that Ignis was right. Ignis was always right. But Ignis didn’t see the things that Noctis saw when he laid his head down at night, and Noctis grew more frightened every day that those visions would start to manifest in reality.

The fact that the very stars were disappearing did nothing to calm those fears.

He tightened his hold on Ignis’s hand.

They stood there for some time, looking at what was left of the stars, reciting their names as they spotted the constellations that were still intact.

"Fenrir," Noctis said, pointing with their clasped hands.

"Atomos," said Ignis, aiming a bit higher.

"Phoenix."

"Ixion."

"Alexander."

"Golem."

"Diabolos."

"Valefor."

"Madeen."

Their hands traced over the sky together, connecting the dots. They listed them all, until every shape was accounted for. With each one, Noctis silently wished for the power, wisdom, and courage to do whatever it was that the gods intended him to do. He hoped whatever it was would fix everything that the empire had broken.

'Walk tall,' Regis had said.

Noctis was trying.

When they were through with their astronomical roll-call, Noctis asked, "Do you think we'll ever see them again? The ones that are gone?" 

He was only half-referring to the constellations.

Ignis was quiet for a long time. When he answered, Noctis could tell he was choosing his words carefully.

"What I think," Ignis said, "is that I have witnessed a number of things in recent weeks that I never could have imagined outside the tales we read as children." His eyes remained fixed on the sky. "Under the circumstances, I would not rule out either possibility. Perhaps they are gone for good. Perhaps they will return. All we can do is press onward."

Noctis hummed in agreement. It wasn't exactly comforting, but it was the truth, and Noctis appreciated that.

The wind picked up again, and Ignis's arm went around him automatically, shielding Noctis from the worst of it. When the gust passed, Ignis motioned toward the cabin on the ground below them.

"I believe that was our cue to retire for the evening," he said drily.

Noctis snickered as he noticed how the wind had mussed Ignis's hair.

"Yeah, it looks like you could use some beauty sleep for sure," he teased.

"Says the one who has bedhead despite not having been to bed."

"Yeah, yeah," Noctis said, allowing Ignis to steer him back toward the elevator.

If he stood closer to Ignis than was strictly necessary on the descent, well, it _was_ getting cold.

Noctis hadn't realized just how tired he was until they reached the cabin door and he tried to open it from the wrong side. He got it on the second try and stood aside so Ignis could enter first; Ignis, for his part, was kind enough not to comment on his blunder. Before Noctis followed him to bed, he turned to look up at the stars one last time.

"See you on the other side."


End file.
